although it’s not the first time trump transformed an apolitical issue into a partisan topic, this newest addition to trump’s 2020 campaign online store sparked heated discussions immediately. 

surprisingly, i did not see an overwhelming amount of personal attacks this time. the center of the argument was the practicality of paper straws. while some said that the paper straws contributed to significant reductions in plastic use, others genuinely complained about how these eco-friendly straws are too soft to hold drinks such as milkshakes.  

here are five important things to know about the war around straws.

paper straws work.

they work because the popularization and usage of paper straws reduce the production of plastic straws and that in turn reduces ocean pollution. environmental scientists collected trash on u.s. coastlines over five years and estimated that nearly 7.5 million plastic straws are out there on american coasts. meanwhile, only about 1% of plastic wastes are collected globally. when it comes to sustainability, paper straws work.

many stores already abandoned plastic straws. 

starting in 2018, many companies began to take action in eliminating plastic straws. starbucks, for one, announced that it plans to eliminate plastic straws by 2020 around the globe. the coffee giant will provide recyclable straw-less lid instead. other big companies such as american airlines and alaska airlines also said that it would provide marine-friendly paper straws. 

paper straws are biodegradable and take less time to decompose. 

most plastic straws are made of petroleum-based plastic, which means that they are not biodegradable when they are disposed into the environment. then, it takes hundreds of years for them to decompose in landfills. even for straws made of biodegradable plastics, the process of disposing will yield carbon dioxide and inorganic compounds. 

on the other hand, paper straws can decompose into the soil in 2-6 weeks. besides, paper straws can be easily recycled and reused. the mill-processing is developed and efficient in cleaning and turning old paper products into new ones. 

paper straws are being developed to work better.  

the fragility is the most complained feature of paper straws. while paper straws function well while holding drinks such as water and coffee, it usually cannot hold smoothies or milkshakes. different brands of paper straws have different qualities, but they share the problem of disintegrating in the beverages too fast. that being said, there have been efforts in producing more durable paper straws. some manufacturers developed paper straws with cellulose paper and glues, enabling durability of up to 12 hours without losing shape. 

if 12 hours are not good enough, i won’t be too surprised to see even more durable paper straws out in the market. california sen. kamala harris, also a democratic presidential candidate, specifically advocated for more innovation around paper straws as an effort to ban plastics during cnn’s climate town hall in september.

paper straws work, but there are other options that work even better. 

while there are many benefits of replacing with plastic paper straws, they are still single-use consumer items. 

besides, paper straws only solve a tiny fraction of the issue. straws make up 0.025% of the plastic that is found in the ocean every year. many other plastic products are in our oceans, too. while popularizing paper straws is a right step on the track, it is a true baby step toward a more sustainable consumption culture. using a metal straw, or simply a mug is more sustainable in the long run.

the arizona-based start-up company tempe betr-blok is the for-profit arm of a non-profit organization that researches alternative materials for building. frettoloso said the idea of the betr-blok formed from an idea he and his partner developed after there was idea between the two of commercialization opportunity and mass production of a sustainable, affordable building material.

with a diy approach, betr-blok wanted to make the material not only easily accessible, but also easy to build for common hands.

“there is really a community of paper creators,” frettoloso said. “in general, you build a house out of paper and you’re using less labor and less materials.”

the betr-blok is made with paper — yes paper — like shaded paper, magazine, cardboard and regional material. the material of the block has other perks besides its friendly environmental properties — the block is also fire resistant, water resistant, termite resistant and, more importantly, it’s supportive to hold up structures.

“everyone has paper news print and cardboard but they have a unique form of delouse,” frettoloso said.

affordability is another concept frettoloso had in mind while creating the sustainable block. frettoloso said he wanted to highlight not only the environmental aspect of the building block, but also the cost and how it can help homes and businesses save on energy costs.

“lead with costs and those benefits and how people save money,” frettoloso said. “thirty-five percent of the energy that is lost through our house is through the walls.”

the concept over the cost of energy with the betr-blok has been tested by frettoloso and his team over the past several of years. the company recently received a grant from the salt river project, an energy supplier in arizona, to build a 500 square foot test structure of their innovative blocks.

in order to monitor the space, a weather stations and data acquisition was put in place to monitor the blocks. over the course of 3 years, the house was kept at a 76-degree temperature, for a total cost of 18 cents a day. the end of the month bill was 18 dollars. if the calculations of frettoloso’s project were applied to a bigger space, a 2,000 square foot space kept at the same temperature of 76 degrees would put energy costs at 75 dollars a month.

“with 500 square feet, you can easily multiply those numbers to larger houses,” frettoloso said.

the testing and approval of the buildings has been no easy process, with hurdles around each corner that frettoloso and his team have to pay attention to and overcome. fires testing, water penetration and other tests can often eat up a lot of time and money.

“there’s a lot of hoops you have to jump through when you’re dealing with municipalities,” frettoloso said. “it’s necessary, we get it. it’s just really expensive.”

as far the future of betr-blok, frettoloso said he’s optimistic for the next five to ten years, where he hopes his innovation will reach a mass audience who will not only want to welcome more sustainable products to build their spaces, but also save money on monthly and yearly energy costs.

“definitely making it a regional thing,” frettoloso said about the future. “replicate this across the country.”

the idea of taking and implementing the betr-blok across the country is entirely possible, according to frettoloso. by using the base of paper materials and using local materials from a specified place means the block can be recreated from san francisco to oklahoma city to philadelphia. instead of shipping in materials, local economies are able to be used and cultivated by using regional-specific products to contribute to the block.

“the idea is strategically to place this thing,” frettoloso said. “providing the country with different local building materials.”

to learn more about betr-blok, check out this video!